Chuck the Clock

Since our childhood, we are fed on Maxims like Time is money, Be Punctual, Follow the Rules.. and before we even understand, these are imprinted on our minds. And without blinking an eyelid we become slaves to clocks.

Yes, we begin to live our lives in seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years instead of moments. In fact, a moment becomes so insignificant and miniscule that we do not recognize when it came and went.

I am not against discipline nor am I an advocate of laziness and procrastination. But, of late, I am discovering that living strictly by clock is also not very healthy.

With fast paced lifestyle, where our days are packed with activities and nights are short and stressed out, the body and mind seldom gets a chance to repair and rejuvenate. No wonder, so many spas and parlors have mushroomed, promising you a relaxed massage and body care. Though, I find it funny that even these places are bustling with activities and seldom if ever, a beautician or therapist is unhurried. Plus, the treatment do come with predetermined time limit and again we are left half contented. Even if the service provider is gracious enough to give you full pleasure, often we are ourselves pressed hard for time and prefer the shorter procedures.

In all, the man has forgotten to relax, to do nothing and yet be at peace. We have converted into robots, fed with preset programs and schedules, running, panting, racing against others and ourselves, trying to overtake time and, of course, failing.

Do you even remember the last time, you simply sat under the star lit sky and stared at those heavenly objects or the last time, you simply sat on a park bench, doing nothing but breathe. As I talk to people around me, I discover that most of them have never experienced the pleasure of watching raindrops fall in sheets, revel in the interesting shapes of moving clouds or see and hear the fluttering of leaves. Yes, we do read about these in books and marvel at the writer’s astute observation for a moment but ourselves, we hardly ever indulge in these simple pleasures.

Reason? Well, we don’t have enough time. We are tied to the merciless clock, tick tocking at a killer speed, huffing and puffing, trying hard to keep pace with the machines, that we ourselves invented for our convenience. We have become slaves of clocks, of procedures, of routines, of rules and of cruel discipline.

Aah! Those leisurely baths, long drawn out siesta and gossip sessions, that art of staring in thin air and being in touch with our inner self.. All of these have become forgotten luxuries, unwitting victims of modern go getter attitude.

If only one day, we could Chuck the Clocks and spend life in tune with our own wishes and desires, I am sure most of the diseases will disappear, and serenity return…